Are you open about being an atheist or are you in the closet?

I am semi in the closet. I do have to admit that I am not comfortable discussing my views with just anyone. I am the type that wants everyone to like me (such a fault I have!) and I am nervous someone will think I am a bad person. Even when I find someone who is passionate about science, I still try not to venture down that avenue. So lucky to have you guys!

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"Amen." (excuse my French) We are all lucky to have A/N. Where I live in the deep south, I would almost be taking my life in my hands to come out of the closet. It is also dangerous to just have an Obama sign in my yard or on my car, much less proclaiming to be a witch/devil worshiper. If there is anything red necks hate more than welfare recipients, it's atheists.

Semi-closeted. I try not to bring it up, and am evasive when necessary, but my immediate family knows and I'll be truthful if asked directly. And I was thoroughly open about it during the Christianity and Islam unit.

Maybe it's because of my African wife that I'm semi in the closet about my atheism. At least to her I'm that way to protect our marriage, but I've found her agreeing with some of my statements from time to time. It would simply kill my step father to find out his "minister" turned out atheist, but I'm making myself known to my 2 daughters now. As time goes on I'm finding that I'm almost militant with atheism to anyone else. That might be because I'm angry at having been lied to about God all my life, and I find it incredible as to what everyone else believes! Then people have balls enough to tell you how "sacred" one's religion is and how you should not make fun of other people's religions. Well, why not? If it's bullshit, you should be telling them it's bullshit! I've had it with "Christian apologetics."

The most often heard angry remark about my atheism is that as a former minister I don't "know the Bible very well." On the contrary, I'm atheist because I know it all too well. Then I go online to sites like Answers In Genesis to find that first graders are much smarter than this. How do people believe this clamp trap? I've even found that there are sites pretending to be atheist, but in the end you discover they are Christians "trying to win you back." How deceitful! But according to Martin Luther it's all OK if the "lie" was told in some way that would help God.

Then you go online trying to find support in NOT believing in God, and 90% of everything there ends up telling you "but the Bible says. . . ." No wonder everyone is brainwashed! Did you ever buy a new car and you also get a new car manual? Now imagine that everything in your entire life, everything in this world, is suddenly explained and made clear by that new car manual. Would you believe it? Of course not!

Now suddenly your TV is telling you to "trust in Jesus" and to "receive him." We find a Jesus Cult going here that says everything is OK if you do this much alone, even if the Bible said differently. Nobody wants to die or to "burn," but somebody dies and is put in the ground, then all the idiots claim that person is in heaven! Maybe the entire world is insane.

As I come out of the closet slowly, I'm getting more and more militant with my atheism.

Mathew, my militancy has only gradually increased as I get older. I see these God infected memebots inexorably moving closer and closer to Armageddon. My worst case scenario is to foresee them poisoning the environment (eventually with radioactivity) and then saying, “You see, it was God’s will.”

Maybe we can’t afford complacency and don’t have the time to plant new seeds.

Richard, a bigtime fear of mine is that these religious fundies will do something stupid to try and bring on Armageddon, thinking that they are helping the Bible along and hastening the end times, therefore claiming that they are doing the "will of God." As an atheist I no longer believe this crap, but to many of them nukes and Revelation just has to happen! Some of them would welcome it (if not start it) then wonder why Jebus isn't helping them out in this great time of need.

In memetics, the meme complex cares only about its own propagation and nothing about the host. So religious people do the work of the memeplex without being aware they are being manipulated. In nature, parasitism is one of the most common and successful forms of commensalism (living together.) Symbiosis, living together for mutual benefit, is rare.

I wish these people would understand that humans are just another animal and we are subject to nature’s laws. God isn’t going to save us.

Dennis, I share your concern. It is like a slave with no options begins to look for death/heaven as the only way to find relief. Armageddon is a fantasy based on delusions and there are too many people who share it.

TNT, absolutely. I’d like to bring out that the Prime Directive is the main force of life. Self preservation and reproduction.

From this we can surmise that our genes make us fear death. But in nature, the genes of the firefly make it circle the flame. The genes of the sardine make it migrate to the center of the school making it easier for the sharks to annihilate them.

If those two you just named never went to their death in that fashion, imagine how overpopulated they'd be on Earth today... oups, yes, that's what humans have done, via religion, we have deemed death politically incorrect and we are not allowed to die... unless all else failed.

Sometimes we are supposed to die, and are genetic makeup functions within this assumption. It is ok to die, it's called population control.

I'm totally open and take the hint I'm not wanted around them!! The theist with their bullshit crap talk is alright to them , as I say stuff they don't want to hear as they put their hands on their ears and walk away!! and the ones that stay! I'm crucified with their accusing me of devil possession and will be hell bound to this imaginary place they fear as they fear me that some of my sin of evilness will rub off me to them, that would keep them from their imaginary everlasting life???...... What can I say dealing with delusional lockstep nuts. You lose a lot of acquaintances and friends!!!!....As they think you are radioactive, I can tell this in my own family that are indoctrinated in Religion!! My own wife that is catholic!! We have conflicts between us because of me being a non-believer atheist, She loved her dad thats dead now he was a Atheist too but I try not to talk religion around her!!!.........................................joe